Birch Trees Bear Fruit

Birch Tree Fruit is For the Birds

Many parts of the birch tree are edible for humans. These include the bark, the leaves, the buds, and the sap. However, edible does not necessarily mean tasty. The author of "Edible Birch, Chaga" shares the results she got when making tea, birch syrup, and just eating various parts. Most writers agree the fruits make good food for the birds.

The book Feasting Free on Wild Edibles by Bradford Angier explains how to make birch tea and birch syrup, as well as many other survival foods you can make from plants found in the wild.

Just Birch Leaves and Fruits

A Closer Look at the Leaves and Fruits at the End of October, © B. Radisavljevic

Birch Designs Make Great Throw Pillows

The graceful birch trees easily lend themselves to artistic photos and designs. Their bark is unique, especially the white birches with bark that peels like paper. The tree also can have a weeping appearance, especially when fruiting. You can see that in the photo above and in the final photo in this post. The birch tree inspired the creation of these throw and lumbar pillows on Zazzle.

 Birch Trees Throw Pillow AUTUMN BIRCH TREES PILLOW Autumn birch trees throw pillow The Birches Throw Pillow The Birches Pillow Birches In The Winter 

Birches are Very Useful Trees

Birch trees have medicinal uses. American Indians use the tea to relieve headaches. Some tribes roasted the fruiting cones over campfire coals and breathed the smoke to relieve nasal congestion. These are just a couple of the medicinal uses for birch I found in Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, my go-to book for everything herbal. One can also make a hot poultice of the leaves, bark, and fruits to apply to the skin.

The skin will absorb the methyl salicylate in the birch parts to help skin irritations and minor wounds. Such a poultice may also be used to ease arthritis pain. None of these remedies have been tested by today's researchers for effectiveness, but some modern remedies for muscle pain do contain some methyl salicylate combined with menthol.

We know the American Indians made canoes of the birch's waterproof bark. An oil extracted from the bark was used as a glue when making arrows. You, too, can make beautiful and useful objects from birch. Some suggestions are star ornaments, baskets, rings, woven mats, and shoes. The book below will show you how to make these and many other things from birch you can use.




I'm glad I have a birch tree in my yard. Maybe one day soon I'll make better use of it. I'm glad I have survival food if necessary, along with a possible way to relieve pain. I'll leave crafts to those who enjoy them. I'd rather take photos and write when I want to be creative.

Do you have a birch tree in your yard? Have you ever used it for anything except the joy you get from seeing it every day? 

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Sweetgum Tree with Two Years of Fruits

Sweetgum trees are trees that give Paso Robles so much of its beautiful fall color. They grow along the edges of Larry Moore Park and in several places in the Riverbank Tract. They line many of our Paso Robles streets.

The photo at the left was taken at the end of October, when the leaf color is very bright. In spring the leaves are green and the trees flower.  The fruits develop on the trees in summer. In fall the leaves begin to deepen into their autumn colors.
Most of the trees I've seen in Paso Robles turn red. Some trees have leaves that may turn other colors, like blue, yellow, orange, purple or burgundy. They say if you want more than one tree, you should buy them in autumn to make sure they will match. For a closer look at either of these photos, just click on them to enlarge them.

Fruits are long lasting. The tree in this photo, taken in July, still has black fruits left from last year, as well as the newly forming green fruits for this year. When the fruits get dry, they are spiky and can be painful if you step on them barefooted.

I was surprised to learn that the infertile seeds of the sweetgum tree contain shikimic acid, an ingredient used in making Tamiflu. You can read more about the sweetgum tree's medicinal uses here. 

Related articles

• 12 Springtime Flowering Native Trees By Zone
• Where the Green Lawns Used to be
• Large Oaks Near the Old Carnegie Library in the Paso Robles City Park
• A Bee Tree in Paso Robles

Two Paso Robles Wild Plants that Have Medicinal Value

I happened to take this photo on my Templeton property, but both these plants can be seen growing wild at Larry Moore Park and in many uncultivated areas throughout the North County. The tree, or large shrub is elderberry. It just seemed to appear out of nowhere one year and kept growing. It took me some time to learn what it was. The milk thistle is the lovely plant with the milky marking in the leaves and the purple thorn flowers. It is reputed to have medicinal uses. It is also edible. Recipes for using both milk thistle and elderberries can be found in Edible and Useful Plants of California.

This lower photo shows you a closer look at the elderberry's different stages. In the lower left you can still see some of the remaining pale yellow flowers. You can also see berries in various stages of ripeness, with the purple berries being the most mature. The bees love this tree when it's blooming in the spring, which is probably why it has so much fruit. I have never needed to water this tree.

Elderberry has been around since the the Stone Age, according to Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, my favorite herb reference. Man has used the berries and flowers for healing, and the branches to make an ancient Greek stringed instrument called the sambuke. Most people today use the berries for making wine or jelly. Both cosmetics and dyes are also made from elderberry flowers or leaves. Elderberry roots, leaves and stems can release cyanide, so one needs to be careful when using this plant. Berries are best consumed cooked.

If  you want to enlarge a photo, just click on it for a closer look.

Have you seen elderberry trees in wild places or along the roadsides? Have you ever used the berries?